What might cause homeschooling conflicts and clashes?

Common areas of conflict in homeschooling (or life with children)

If you're running into some problems with attitude, negativity, lack of motivation, or discouragement, don't quickly assume that there is something wrong with you as a "teacher/parent". There can be many underlying causes of stress. I encourage you to closely examine the following. This might mean taking a few days to observe your child's behavior and responses under specific conditions.

1. Physical: sleep patterns - are they getting enough sleep?; nutrition - is it high value, less sugar, more nutrient-rich?; exercise (is there enough?); allergies - this is a very common cause of behavior problems, fatigue, hyperactivity, lack-of-focus, illness; vision or hearing problems (have these been screened?)

2. Circumstantial: activity patterns - too active?, too passive?; lack of home organization - learning does not happen well in chaos; upset routines, no routines, constant change - some children need definite routines with no surprises.

3. Academic: examine learning style/temperament needs; resources might need adjusting to fit the child's learning style; expectations - too high?, too low? non-existent?; ‘teaching’ style of parent - may need adjusting to student style as much as possible or the child might need more independence

4. Developmental: look at maturity levels (physical, emotional, intellectual); examine approaches to discipline (do they match the child's age and understanding? Are methods controlling and perhaps overbearing? Or more positive - based on clear communication and consequences?

Next: You've pinpointed some potential causes ...